Displacement molding of plastic articles

ABSTRACT

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRESENT INVENTION, PLASTICIZED PLASTIC MATERIAL IS CONFINED WITHIN A CHAMBER OF VARIABLE VOLUME, AND PART OF THE WALLS OF THE CHAMBER ARE FORMED BY A FIRST MOLD PART WHICH IS MOVABLE RELATIVE TO THE CHAMBER. A GATE OPENING IN THE FIRST MOLD PART IS NORMALLY BLOCKED BY A MOVABLE IN THE FIRST MOLD PART IS NORMALLY PART IS INITIALLY SPACED FROM THE FIRST MOLD PART AND IS MOVED INTO CONTACT WITH THE FIRST MOLD PART. THERE IS A MOLD CAVITY IN THE MOLD PARTS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE BLOCKING MEMBER IS MOVED OUT OF THE GATE OPENING SO THAT THE MOLD CAVITY COMMUNICATES WITH THE PLASTICIZED MATERIAL IN THE CHAMBER. THE FIRST AND SECOND MOLD PARTS ARE THEN MOVED JOINTLY TO REDUCE THE VOLUME OF THE CHAMBER AND THEREBY INJECT PLASTICIZED MATERIAL THROUGH THE GATE OPENING INTO THE MOLD CAVITY. NEXT, THE GATE OPENING IS CLOSED BY THE BLOCKING MEMBER. THE MOLD PARTS AND THE BLOCKING MEMBER ARE MOVED IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION TO ENLARGE THE CHAMBER TO ITS ORIGINAL VOLUME, AND THEN THE FIRST MOLD PART AND THE BLOCKING MEMBER ARE HALTED WHILE THE SECOND MOLD PART MOVES FURTHER IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION TO ITS INITIAL POSITION TO ACCOMMODATE EJECTION OF THE MOLDED ARTICLE. IN ONE EMBODIMENT, THE SECOND MOLD PART INCLUDES TWO MEMBERS DEFINING THE MOLD CAVITY, THESE MEMBERS BEING SEPARABLE TO EFFECT EJECTION OF THE MOLDED ARTICLE.

June 29, 1971 Filed Oct. 30, 1967 A. R. UHLIG DISPLACEMENT MOLDING OF PLASTIC ARTICLES FIG./

FIG. 2

7 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 3

FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

ALBERT R. UHLIG.

ATT'YS.

June 29, 1971 A. R. UHLlG DISPLACEMENT MOLDING OF PLASTIC ARTICLES 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 30, 1967 1 124 [/8 I22 mes INVENTOR.

ATT'YS.

FIG. 6

June 29, 1971 A. R. UHLlG 3,590,114

DISPLACEMENT MOLDING 0F PLASTIC ARTICLES Filed Oct. 30, 1967 7 Sheets-Sheet I Fla? . [24 L r) I24 FIG 8 I26 INVHN'I'UR.

ALBERT R. UHL/G.

ATT'YS.

June 29, 1971 A. R. U-HLIG DISPLACEMENT MOLDING OF PLASTIC ARTICLES Filed Oct. 30, 1967 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 I86 9 17a I78 5 F I82 7 2OO I84 206 FIG. 12

INVIIN'IL JR.

ALBERT R. UHL/G.

Y MM 2 2/ 4M ATT'YS June 29, 1971 UHUG 3,590,114

DISPLACEMENT MOLDING OF PLASTIC ARTICLES Filed Oct. 50, 1967 v 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 will FIG. 13 X 20 I I92I80 INVh'N'I'Ok.

ALBERT R UHL/G.

June 29, 1971 R UHLIG 3,590,114

DISPLACEMENT MOLDING 0F PLASTIC ARTICLES Filed Oct. 30, 1967 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 KV 320 FIG. I6

F 3 INVENTOR.

ALBERT R. UHLIG.

ATT'YS.

United States Patent 3,590,114 DISPLACEMENT MOLDING F PLASTIC ARTICLES Albert R. Uhlig, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owens-Illinois, Inc.

Filed Oct. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 679,109 Int. Cl. B29f 1/04 US. Cl. 264--328 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In accordance with the present invention, plasticized plastic material is confined within a chamber of variable volume, and part of the walls of the chamber are formed by a first mold part which is movable relative to the chamber. A gate opening in the first mold part is normally blocked by a movable blocking member. A second mold part is initially spaced from the first mold part and is moved into contact with the first mold part. There is a mold cavity in the mold parts. At the same time, the blocking member is moved out of the gate opening so that the mold cavity communicates with the plasticized material in the chamber. The first and second mold parts are then moved jointly to reduce the volume of the chamber and thereby inject plasticized material through the gate opening into the mold cavity. Next, the gate opening is closed by the blocking member. The mold parts and the blocking member are moved in the reverse direction to enlarge the chamber to its original volume, and then the first mold part and the blocking member are halted while the second mold part moves further in the reverse direction to its initial position to accommodate ejection of the molded article. In one embodiment, the second mold part includes two members defining the mold cavity, these members being separable to effect ejection of the molded article.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method for making plastic articles by injection molding, and more particularly to a method and apparatus whereby injection molding is accomplished by displacement of plasticized material into a mold cavity by movable mold parts.

Existing injection molding systems involve forcing molten plastic under high pressure into a cool mold cavity to be cured as fast as possible. It is well known that the cycle to produce an injection molded product is affected by injection speed, mold temperature and melt temperature. If these three factors are not well adjusted to each other, surface delamination will occur. While filling a mold, the incoming melt may stick to the wall of the mold cavity, and further filling proceeds through the core of the plastic on the wall of the cavity. If the temperature of the wall of the cavity is very low, or if filling speed is very slow, a pronounced boundary layer is formed which is no longer melted down or fused by the subsequently following material. It is recommended that the difference between temperature of melt and temperature of mold be as small as possible where the injection speed is relatively slow. If injection speed can be increased, the danger of layer buildup as explained above will be reduced.

Many modern injection molding machines utilize reciprocating extruders which make it possible to inject plasticized material into a mold cavity at high speed and under high pressure. This in turn calls for very high mold clamping forces, all of which complicates the machinery and makes it more expensive. It is also very diflicult to maintain a certain injection pressure throughout the entire injection head system without creating too much of a pressure drop through channeling.

Patented June 29, 1971 Another problem with modern fast injection molding machines involves the small filling gate used in such machines. When plastic melt is injected under high pressure through this small filling gate, friction produced by the melt passing through the gate produces heat which tends to degrade the plastic material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is now proposed to overcome the foregoing problems by utilizing a displacement molding principle in which movable molds displace plasticized material from a chamber into a mold cavity at very high filling speed. No expensive reciprocating extruder is needed because the displacement chamber can be filled with plasticized material under low pressure produced by an inexpensive extruder. A relatively large gate opening can be used to reduce frictionally induced heat.

The method of the invention utilizes a chamber of variable volume which is filled with plasticized material supplied from a conventional extruder, and movable mold parts which are moved relative to the chamber to reduce the volume of the chamber and thereby express plasticized material into a mold cavity formed by the mold parts. The invention utilizes the principles of a displacement molding method and apparatus described and claimed in Patent No. 3,032,810 to L. D. Soubier and assigned to the present assignee. However, that patent involved injection, extrusion and blowing, and did not contemplate injection of plasticized material into a cavity formed by separable mold parts.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention, part of the walls of a displacement chamber are formed by one mold part which is movable relative to the chamber. A second movable mold part is spaced from the first mold part. The first mold part has a gate opening through which plasticized material may be injected into the mold cavity when it is formed, and this gate opening is initially closed by a blocking member which may also form a portion of the walls of the mold chamber. The second mold part is brought into contact with the first mold part, and at the same time the blocking member is moved out of the gate opening so that the mold cavity communicates with the plasticized material in the displacement chamber. The first and second mold parts are then moved jointly to reduce the volume of the displacement chamber and thereby inject plasticized material through the gate opening into the mold cavity. After the injection step, the gate opening is closed by the blocking member. The mold parts and the blocking member are then moved in the reverse direction to return the displacement chamber to its original volume, and at this point the first mold part and the blocking member are halted. The displacement chamber starts to fill up with plasticized material supplied from the extruder, and the second mold part is moved further in the reverse direction to return it to its initial position spaced from the first mold part. The molded article is then ejected from the mold.

The method of the invention has several advantages. The mold cavity is filled very quickly, thus eliminating the problems encountered with slow speed injection molding as explained above. This fast filling speed can be achieved inexpensively by the impact energy of a moving mold part. No expensive reciprocating extruder is required. A single forward and reverse stroke of the mold accomplishes in the correct sequence: (1) gate opening (2) clamping of mold parts, (3) high speed filling of cavities, (4) filling of displacement chamber, and (5) ejection of container.

The cost of a machine of the proposed type is reduced by the following factors: (a) an inexpensive extruder can be used, (b) the cost of hydraulic or mechanical equipment and control equipment for the single stroke motion 3 of the parts is low compared to existing machines, (c) less tooling is required as compared to existing machines, ((1) fast tooling change is possible, (e) low maintenance cost is obtained, and (f) low labor cost is obtained.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for injection molding of plastic articles by a displacement molding principle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method wherein one stage of mold movement is used to form a mold cavity, and another stage of mold movement is utilized to displace plasticized material into the mold cavity.

A further object of the invention is to provide molding method wherein first and second mold parts cooperate with a gate blocking member to fill a mold cavity by displacement of plasticized material with the molds, and to open and close a gate of the molds to allow such filling by a properly sequenced movement of the blocking member.

Another object of the invention is to fill a mold cavity by displacement molding employing a single forward and reverse stroke of a mold member which accomplishes (1) opening of a gate, (2) filling of a mold cavity by displacement molding, (3) re-closing of the gate, and (4) ejection of the molded article.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.-

011 the drawings:

FIGS. 1 through 4 are a series of views schematically illustrating the displacement molding method and apparatus of the invention;

FIGS. 5 through 8 are a series of views showing one apparatus embodiment of the invention at various stages of a cycle and illustrating the method steps of the invention;

FIGS. 9 through 12 illustrate another apparatus embodiment of the invention at various stages of a cycle and also illustrate method steps;

FIG. 13 illustrates a modification of the embodiment of FIGS. 9 through 12; and

FIGS. 14 through 18 illustrate a further apparatus embodiment of the invention at various stages of a cycle and also illustrate method steps.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 4 inclusive, there is shown a base 20, a lower mold member 22, an upper mold member 24 and a blocking plunger 26 at various positions in a cycle of operation to illustrate the nature of the method and apparatus of the invention. In FIG. 1, the upper mold part '24 is in a raised initial position spaced from the lower mold part 22 which is mounted for vertical movement within the cup-shaped base 20. A displacement chamber 28 is formed between the bottom of the lower mold part 22 and the inside bottom wall of the base 20. The displacement chamber 28 communicates with a conventional plasticizing extruder through an opening 30 in the side wall of the base member 20, and plasticized material is supplied from the extruder through opening 30 to the displacement chamber 28 under relatively low pressure.

The lower mold part 22 is also cup-shaped and has a recess 32 therein which is adapted to receive a projecting male portion 3-4 of the upper mold part 24. Upper mold part 24 has a shoulder 36 which registers with and is adapted to engage the top rim 38 of the lower mold part 22.

There is a gate opening 40 through the bottom wall 42 of the lower mold part 22, and this opening is normally closed by the reduced tip 44 of the blocking plunger 26. Blocking plunger 26 has a shoulder 46 which seats on a registering surface of the lower mold part 22 when the blocking plunger 26 is in position to close the gate opening 40 as shown in FIG. 1.

With the various members of the apparatus in the positions shown in FIG. 1, the displacement chamber 28 is filled with plasticized material, and the gate opening 40 is closed by the plunger 26. The upper mold part 24 is in an initial position spaced above the lower mold part 22.

The first step of the method is to move the upper mold part 24 into contact with the lower mold part 22 so that the shoulder 36 of mold part 24 abuts the rim surface 38 of the lower mold part 22 as shown in FIG. 2. At the same time, the blocking plunger 26 is moved away from the gate opening 40 so that the mold cavity 50 formed between the upper and lower mold parts 24 and 22 communicates with the displacement chamber 28 through the gate opening 40. The movement of the blocking plunger 26 may be caused independently of the motion of the upper mold part 24, or alternatively, the upper mold part may be connected to the blocking plunger 26 so that the movement of the upper mold part forces the plunger 26 out of the gate opening.

The next step is to move the upper mold part 24 and the lower mold part 22 jointly toward the body of plasticized material in the displacement chamber 28 so as to force plasticized material from the chamber through the gate opening 40 into the mold cavity 50. As shown in FIG. 3, this reduces the volume of the displacement chamber 28 and fills the mold cavity 50 with plasticized material. During the joint motion of the upper mold part 24 and the lower mold part 22, the gate opening 40 is again closed by the blocking plunger 26, also as shown in FIG. 3. The joint motion of the mold parts may continue until the lower mold part 22 seats on the shoulder 46 of the blocking plunger 26, or alternatively, the blocking plunger 26 may be moved in the reverse direction until it seats against the lower mold member 22. It may be noted that during the joint movement of the mold parts towards the displacement chamber 28, some excess plasticized material may be forced back through the opening 30 into the extruder.

Next, the two mold parts 24 and 22 and the blocking plunger 26 are moved in the reverse direction to return the lower mold part 22 to its initial position and to return the displacement chamber 28 to its original volume. The upper mold part 24 is moved in the reverse direction by a hydraulic cylinder or some other force applying means, and the lower mold part 22 is pushed back to its original position by the blocking plunger 26. The blocking plunger 26 may be urged in the reverse direction by spring pressure or by hydraulic pressure or a mechanical drive.

When the displacement chamber 28 reaches its original volume, the lower mold part 22 and the plunger 26 are halted. The upper mold part 24 continues to move in the reverse direction until it reaches its initial position spaced above the lower mold part 22 as shown in FIG. 4. The plastic article is carried by the upper mold part 24, and when the upper mold part reaches its initial position, the plastic article may be ejected therefrom by a suitable ejector mechanism (not shown). While the mold parts 22 and 24 are moving back to their initial positions, the displacement chamber 28 is filling up with plasticized material supplied from the extruder through opening 30. When the displacement chamber 28 is filled with plasticized material, the cycle is completed, and the apparatus is ready for the next molding cycle.

FIGS. 5 through 8 illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which a blocking plunger is moved in response to the motion of one of the mold parts. FIG. shows the major parts of the apparatus of this embodiment. A movable platen 60 carries an upper mold part 62 (see FIG. 6), and platen 60 is movable vertically on stationary guide posts 64 attached to an upper frame member 66 and a lower frame member 68. The latter frame member is mounted above a base 70 on supports 72, and in the space between members 68 and 70 there is a multiple station compression head 74 which includes a lower mold part 76 (see FIG. 6). The movable platen 60 is raised and lowered by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 78 mounted on frame member 66 with its piston connected to the platen 60.

Actually, several upper mold parts and several corresponding lower mold parts may be carried by the platen 60 and the compression head 74, and the lower mold parts are represented by circles 80 in FIG. 5. Pins 82 are provided in association with the compression head 74 for moving the blocking plunger associated with each lower mold part, and the pins 82 are actuated by other pins '84 carried by the movable platen 60.

Plasticized material is fed to displacement chambers in the compression head 74 from an extruder 86 which has a hopper 88 through which plastic material is fed into the extruder. Extruder 86 is mounted on the base 70.

Referring to FIG. 6, an upper mold part 62 is shown mounted on platen 60 in a raised position above the lower mold part 76 which is attached to a movable structure '90. The stationary base of the apparatus includes three plates 92, 94 and 96, the upper plate 92 being attached to the intermediate plate 94 by screws 98, and the lower plate 96 being attached to the intermediate plate 94 by screws 100. A further stationary member 102 is threaded at 104- and screwed into matching threads on the lower plate 96 so that member 102 may be adjusted vertically relative to plate 96. A displacement chamber 106 is formed between lower mold part 76 and movable structure 90 on the upper side and stationary member 102 on the lower side. The displacement chamber 106 communicates with the extruder 86 through a passageway 108 provided between plates 94 and 96.

The lower mold part 76 has a gate opening @110 through its bottom wall which is normally closed by a blocking plunger 112 which has a reduced tip 114 fitting within the gate opening. Plunger 112 has a shoulder 116 which seats against the lower mold part 76. An enlarged head 118 is attached to plunger 112 by a screw 120, and head 118 clamps a plate 122 to the plunger. Plate 122 is connected to the pin 82 by means of head 124 and screw I126. Pin 82 extends through plates 92, 94 and 96 and is freely movable relative to the latter plates. The upper end of pin 82 is in alignment with the pin 84 carried by the platen 60. Pin 84 has a head 128 which is urged downwardly by a spring 130 provided in a recess 132 in platen 60.

Stationary member 102 has a counterbore surface 14-0 therein, and a radially enlarged head 142 on plunger .112 fits movably within this counterbore surface. A chamber 148 is formed within the stationary member 102. This chamber may be filled with oil or other hydraulic liquid supplied through an opening 150 which extends through the cap member 144. The opening 150 may be connected to an accumulator for storing oil under pressure which is not shown in the drawings. The plunger 112 is free to move within the vertical limits of the chamber 148, and it is urged upward to the position shown in FIG. 6 by the oil pressure within the chamber 148.

Movable structure 90 connected to lower mold part 76 is urged to an initial position by the plunger 1.12 as shown in FIG. 6. Movable structure 90 has a flange 15 ithereon which fits in a recess 156 in plate member 92. as shown. Thus, movable structure 90 and lower mold part 76 are free to move within the limits of recess 156.

In connection with the movable platen 60, there is an ejector pin 158 which extends through upper mold part 62 and also through platen 60. With the platen 60 in the raised position shown in FIG. 6, the ejector pin l158 abuts against a fixed structure 160 which causes the ejector pin to project from the face of upper mold part 62. FIG. 6 shows an article 162 being ejected from the upper mold part 62 by the ejector pin 158. A suitable spring (not shown) may be provided for urging ejector pin 158 to a retracted position.

FIG. 6 also shows the displacement chamber 106 being filled with plasticized material supplied through passageway 108 from the extruder 86. When the displacement chamber 106 is tfilled with plasticized material the apparatus is ready to begin a new cycle of operation. It may be noted that the flow of plasticized material through the passageway 108 is controlled by a control member 166 which projects into the passageway 108. Control member 166 may be adjusted vertically to control the crosssectional size of the passageway 108 to thereby control the rate of filling the displacement chamber 106, and also to restrict the flow of plasticized material in the reverse direction through passageway 10 8 when the displacement chamber 106 is reduced in volume in the operation of the apparatus. Reverse flow over flow control .166 creates back pressure which increases the injection pressure and thus increases the density of the molded article 162. Less back pressure would fill the mold cavity only loosely.

It will be understood that the method of the invention is carried out by the apparatus of :FIGS. 6 through 8. In the first step of the method, the upper mold part 62 and the platen 60 are moved toward the lower mold part 76.

During this movement the pin 84 carried by platen 60 contacts the pin 82 carried by plates 92, 94 and 96 and forces pin 82 downwardly, thus retracting blocking plunger 112 out of the gate opening in the lower mold part 76. As shown in FIG. 7, the blocking plunger 112 moves downward until the enlarged head 142 abuts against end cap 144. As the platen 60 and upper mold part 62 continue moving downward, the pin 84 compresses spring and thus allows relative movement of the platen 60 to continue.

As the platen 60 moves downward further, the upper mold part 62 contacts the lower mold part 76 and then begins to push the lower mold part 76 and movable structure 90 downward so that the two mold parts move jointly toward the displacement chamber 106. During this movement the flange 154 on movable structure 90 rides downward through the recess 156 until it abuts against intermediate plate 94. The latter condition of the apparatus is shown in FIG. '8.

In the condition of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8, the displacement chamber 166 has been reduced in volume, thus forcing plasticized material through the gate opening 110 into the mold cavity formed between the two mold parts and the blocking plunger. Some plasticized material also fiows back through passage \108 into the extruder. The lower mold part 76 has at this stage seated on the shoulder 116 of the plunger 112 such that the gate opening 110 is again closed.

Next, the cylinder 78 (FIG. 5) starts to withdraw the platen 60 in the reverse direction so that the upper mold part 62 moves in the reverse direction. The oil pressure applied to enlarged head 142 through the opening forces the plunger 112 to follow the upper mold part, and the plunger in turn pushes the lower mold part 76 along with the upper mold part until the lower mold part returns to its initial position as shown in FIG. 6. At this point, the flange 154 abuts against plate member 92 so that lower mold part 76 cannot move any farther. The blocking plunger v112 is also halted with the enlarged head 142 abutting against the upper end of the chamber 148.

The platen 60 and the upper mold part 62. continue to move in the upward direction until they reach their initial position as shown in FIG. 6. The molded article is carried on the upper mold part 62, and as the platen 60 approaches its initial position, the ejector pin 158 hits stationary structure 160 and further movement of the platen causes the upper mold part 62 to withdraw from the plastic article so that the article is ejected as shown in FIG. 6. 7

FIGS. '9 through 12 show another embodiment of the invention which is adapted for the molding of squeeze tubes. FIG. 9 shows the apparatus in a condition where an upper mold part 170 is moving downward towards a lower mold part which is made of two pieces 172 and 174. The lower mold part 172, 174 is movable vertically within a base which is made up of members 176, 178 and 180. Base portion 178 is an annular sleeve which has a bore surface 182 wherein a stationary structure 184 is provided. There is a space between the outer perimeter of stationary structure #184 and the bore surface l 82, and plasticized material is supplied through this space from an extruder which is not shown. The lower mold part 172, 174 is movable vertically within the bore surface 182. of the base portion 17 8. A displacement chamber 186 is formed between an inner surface 188 of member 174 and the end surface 1'20 of the stationary structure 184. Piece 174 of the lower mold part has a flange 192 which fits in a recessed surface 194 of base member 180. Another flange 196 of member 180 overlies the flange 1192 of member 174 and forms a stop for holding the lower mold part in its upper position.

The stationary structure 184 has a central recess 200 therein which the blocking plunger 202 is received. The blocking plunger 202 extends upwardly up through the lower mold part 172, 174 and provides one of the wall surfaces of a cavity 204 in which a squeeze tube is tobe molded.

The blocking plunger 202 is urged to an upper position by a spring 206, and in this upper position a shoulder 208 on the plunger abuts against a corresponding shoulder 210 on portion .174 of the lower mold part. The shoulder 210 defines a gate opening through which plasticized material may be injected from the displacement chamber 186 to the mold cavity 204. With the plunger 202 in its upper position as shown in FIG. 9, the gate opening 210 is closed by blocking plunger.

Upper mold part 17 carries a core pin 212 which projects from the lower end of the upper mold part 170. Annular surface 214 of upper mold part 170 is threaded, and an annular space 216 is formed between the core pin 212 and the threaded surface 214. The neck of the squeeze tube is formed in this annular space 216.

In the condition of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 9, the core pin 212 has just made contact with the upper end of the blocking plunger 202. Thus, the upper mold part 17 0 is shown as it is moving down toward the lower mold part 172, 174. As the upper mold part 170 continues to move downward, the blocking plunger 202 is also moved downward relative to the shoulder 210 of the portion 174 of the lower mold part, and this opens the gate opening at shoulder 210 so that the mold cavity 204 communicates with the displacement chamber 186. The upper mold part 70 reaches a position where its surface 220 abuts against the upper surface 222 of portion 172 of the lower mold part. Further downward movement of upper mold part 170 causes the lower mold part 172, 174 to also move downwardly, thus reducing the volume of the displacement chamber 186 and forcing plasticized material into the cavity 204. The upper mold part and the lower mold part continue moving jointly downwardly until the flange 192 on lower mold part 174 abuts against the top of the stationary base portion 178. The apparatus is shown in this condition in FIG. 10.

Next, the upper mold part 1 is retracted in the reverse direction, and the pressure exerted on blocking plunger 202 by the spring 206 causes the blocking plunger to follow the upper part 170. The plunger 202 in its upward movement engages the shoulder 210 of portion 174 of the lower mold part and from this point on pushes the lower mold portion 174 along with it until the flange 192 abuts against the overlying flange 196 of base portion 180. At

this point, the upward motion of lower mold part 172, 174 and blocking plunger 202 is halted.

The upper mold part continues to move upward and carries a finished squeeze tube 224 along with it until the squeeze tube is clear of the lower mold part. The tube is physically separated when shoulder 210 abuts against the other shoulder 208. This condition of the apparatus is shown in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 12, the upper mold part 170 is provided with two halves which are then separated laterally to release the squeeze tube 224 and thus ejects the squeeze tube from the mold.

As the upper mold part is moving upward, the displacement chamber 186 is filling with plasticized material supplied through passageway 182 from an extruder (not shown). Thus, when the finished article 224 has been ejected, the apparatus is ready to begin a new cycle of operation.

As shown in FIG. 13, heaters 226 and 228 may be provided in members 172 and 202 to heat the mold cavity 204, and a coolant passage 230 may be provided in mold part 170 to cool the neck space 216. Thus, the upper mold part may be kept cool to facilitate rapid cooling of the neck of the article while permitting cavity 204 to be maintained at optimum temperature for molding.

Another embodiment of the invention in which cooling of a mold may be utilized is illustrated in FIGS. 14-18. In this embodiment, an upper mold 300 is formed by a cupshaped mold member 302 and another mold member 304 having a projection 306 adapted to enter the recess 308 in member 302 to form a mold cavity 310. A gate opening 312 is provided in cup-shaped member 302 to allow communciation between the mold cavity 310 and a displacement chamber as will be described. The entire upper mold 300 is movable in the vertical direction, and mold members 302 and 304 are separable.

Mold member 304 has a passageway including openings 314 through which Water or some other cooling liquid may be circulated to kee the mold member cool. Mold member 302 also has a passageway including openings 316 through which water or other cooling liquid may be circulated to keep the mold member cool.

Below mold 300 is provided an injection head 320 including a cup-like base 322 in which vertically movable lower mold member 324 is provided. Mold member 324 has a gate opening at 326 extending through the same, and this opening is normally closed by a blocking member 328 which has a shoulder at 330' abutting against a lip 332 of mold member 324. The blocking member 328 holds lower mold member 324 in spaced relation with the bottom 334 of base 322 to form a displacement chamber 336, and this displacement chamber communicates with a source of plasticized material through an opening 338 in the side wall of base member 322.

Initially, the displacement chamber 336 is filled with plasticized material which has been supplied from the source thereof. In FIG. 14, the mold assembly 300 is shown with mold members 302 and 304 in contact with each other to form the mold cavity 310, and mold 300 is in a raised position over the injection head 320'. It will be understood, however, that mold member 304 may initially be spaced above mold member 302 and then brought down into contact with mold member 302 to form the mold cavity 310.

Mold 300 is then lowered toward injection head 320 to bring mold member 302 into contact with the lower mold member 324 which is a part of the injection head, and to align gate opening 312 with gate opening 326. Then the blocking plunger 328 is lowered to move the tip of the blocking plunger out of gate opening 326 so that the mold cavity 310 communicates with the displacement chamber 336 through gate openings 312 and 326. The condition of the apparatus at this stage is shown in FIG. 15.

Mold members 302, 304 and 324 are then lowered further towards the displacement chamber 336 to force plasticized material from the displacement chamber through gate openings 312 and 326 into the mold cavity 310 as the volume of the displacement chamber 336 is reduced. The mold members may be lowered until lip 340- of mold member 302 abuts against the top edges 342 of base 322 in the manner shown in FIG. 16. At this stage, displacement chamber 336 has been reduced to its minimum volume, and gate openings 32 6 and 312 have slipped over the tip end of blocking plunger 328 so that the gate openings are again closed by the blocking member.

Mold members 302, 304 and 324 are then raised jointly to return the displacement chamber to its original volume, and at this point mold member 324 is halted. During this motion, mold member 324 may be raised by the blocking plunger 328, whereas mold members 302 and 304 are raised by a head (not shown) to which they are connected.

Mold members 302 and 304, still in contact with each other, are then raised further away from mold member 324 until the lip 340* of mold member 302 contacts an abutment 344 mounted in a stationary position on a support 346. The apparatus at this stage of the process is illustrated in FIG. 17'. It may be seen that a plastic article 348 has been formed in the mold cavity 310. Mold members 302 and 304 are in raised position above injection head 320, and the motion of mold member 302 has been halted by the abutment 344. Displacement chamber 336 is at its original volume and is again being filled with plasticized material supplied from the source thereof through opening 338.

Mold member 304 is then raised further to separate it from cup-shaped mold member 302 to the position shown in lFIG. 18. The plastic article 348 is carried by mold member 30 4, and at this stage the plastic article 348 may be ejected from mold member 304 by any suitable means such as an ejector plunger of the type used in the previous embodiments.

One important feature of the embodiment of FIGS. 14-18 is that the mold members 302 and 304 which form the mold cavity 310 may be kept cool by the liquid circulated through passageways 314 and 316 to facilitate rapid cooling of the plastic article 348 after it has been formed. The injection head 320* including the mold part 324 may be kept hot by the plasticized material, perhaps supplemented by heating means if desired to maintain the displacement chamber at an optimum temperature for molding. This affords a reduction in the cycle time as compared for example in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 where one entire mold half is part of the hot injection head.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the molding of plasticized plastic material, the method and apparatus obviously could be utilized with any material capable of being molded.

Having thus, described my invention, I claim:

1. In a method of making a plastic object by an injection molding process in which plasticized material is injected into an injection mold, the steps of (1) confining a body of plasticized material in a chamber of variable volume, part of the walls of said chamber being defined by a movable structure including a first part of said injection mold, said first mold part having a gate opening therein normally closed by a movable blocking member, (2) providing a second mold part in an initial position wherein said injection mold is open, (3) moving said second mold part into contact with said first mold part to form a mold cavity, (4) moving said blocking member away from said gate opening so that said mold cavity communicates with said body of plasticized material through said gate opening, (5 moving said first and second mold parts jointly in a first direction towards said body to reduce the volume of said chamber and thereby force plasticized material from said body through said gate opening into said mold cavity, (6) closing said gate opening by blocking the same with said blocking member, (7) moving said first and second mold parts and said blocking member in the reverse of said first direction to posi- 10 tions wherein said chamber is at the original volume thereof and filling said chamber with plasticized material, and (8) moving said second mold part away from said first mold part to said initial position thereof.

2. In a method of making a plastic article by the injection of plasticized material from a variable volume holding chamber directly into a fixed volume mold cavity, said chamber and said cavity having movable wall means interposed therebetween, the steps of (1) filling the holding chamber with plasticized material, said movable wall means, having a lower surface forming the roof of said chamber and an upper surface forming the floor of said mold cavity, being in a first position and said chamber being isolated from said cavity, 2) establishing communication between said chamber and said cavity, (3) relatively moving said chamber and said cavity toward one another with said movable wall means interposed therebetween reducing the volume of said chamber to force material under pressure into said cavity, (4) continuing step (3) until an injection and forming pressure is attained in the cavity, (5) maintaining the pressure produced in step (4) in the cavity until the article is formed, and (6) substantially simultaneously (a) isolating said chamber and said cavity away from each other to return said movable wall means to said first position thereof, and (c) removing said article from said cavity.

3. In a method of making a plastic object by injection molding, the steps of (1) providing a body of plasticized material in a displacement chamber of variable volume, part of the walls of said chamber being defined by a movable first member having a first gate opening therein normally closed by a blocking member, (2) providing a movable mold means having a mold cavity therein and a second gate opening communicating with saidcavity, (3) moving said mold means into contact with said first member to position said first and second gate openings in registration with each other, (4) moving said blocking member out of said first gate opening so that said mold cavity communicates with said body of plasticized material, said blocking member being displaceable independently of both said chamber and said cavity, (5) moving said first member and said mold means jointly in a first direction towards said body to reduce the volume of said chamber and thereby force plasticized material from said body through said gate openings into said mold cavity, 6) closing said first gate opening by blocking the same with said blocking member, (7 moving said first member and said mold means and said blocking member in the reverse of said first direction to positions wherein said chamber is at the original volume thereof, (8) moving said mold means away from said first member, (9) opening said mold means, and (10) removing a molded article from said mold cavity.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 in which said mold means is cooled by flow of a cooling liquid in contact therewith to facilitate rapid cooling of said article while permitting said displacement chamber to be maintained at optimum temperature for molding.

5. In a method of making a plastic object by an injection molding process, the steps of (1) providing a reservoir of a predetermined quantity of the plasticized material, (2) positioning an injection mold having a cavity formed therein in an initial position wherein said mold communicates with said reservoir, said mold including a wall common to and interposed between said cavity and said reservoir body and having a gate opening therein normally closed by a blocking member (3) moving said injection mold in a first direction to displace said wall against said reservoir of material to reduce the volume of said reservoir and to fill the mold cavity with plasticised material under pressure generated solely by displacement of said wall, thereby providing a molded object in said mold cavity, (4) moving said injection mold including said wall in the reverse of said first direction to the 1 1 position where the movement of step (3) started, and opening said injection mold and removing the newly molded part therefrom.

6. In a method of injection molding in a multiple part mold having relatively movable parts closable to define an interior cavity and openable to expose an article formed in said cavity, one of said mold parts having a port through which the cavity communicates with a replenishable reservoir of plasticized material, the mold and the reservoir being relatively movable to force material from the reservoir through the port and into the cavity under the pressure generated by such relative movement; the improvement of said mold part having said port therein being common to and interposed between said reservoir and said cavity, controlling reservoir-cavity communication by a blocking element interposed in said port and displaceable independently of both said reservoir and said cavity, by the steps of (1) relatively positioning said element and said port to prevent reservoir-cavity communication whenever said mold parts are opened (2) displacing said element to open said port during said reservoir-cavity movement to fill the cavity, (3) moving said port toward the displaced blocking element during filling of the cavity and (4) finally positioning the element in said port to close when the mold cavity has been filled.

7. In a method as defined in claim 6, the further im- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 461,721 10/1891 Thurfelder 1830(QQ) 3,023,458 3/1962 Seymour 264328 3,032,810 5/1962 Soubier 26497 3,249,660 5/1966 King 264328X 3,314,105 4/1967 Amsden 26497X 3,357,045 12/ 1967 Ninneman 26497X 2,848,743 8/1958 Mercier 1830(QQ)X 3,049,757 8/ 1962 Hagerbor-g 1830(AH) FOREIGN PATENTS 551,468 2/1943 Great Britain 18--30(AH) 1,007,050 10/1957 Germany 264334 1,174,491 7/1964 Germany 1830(AH) ROBERT F. WHITE, Primary Examiner R. R. KUCIA, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 1830 

